Wearables in the Workplace: the Next Big Thing?

Although the marketplace has settled a bit since Apple’s big release of its first smart watch a few weeks ago, the future is as bright as ever. Every major tech company is working on some kind of wearable device, and it will be a race to see who can overcome the barriers to broad adoption by the mainstream. The race is how to market those product to people as well as the device.

Apple may be well on the way to domination, but it still has a ways to go before that’s certain. While competing tech companies are laboring tirelessly to develop their proprietary devices, other businesses are still trying to figure out how to incorporate these gadgets into their work and they ways they are marketing them online.

The rise of wearables

The fact that the term “wearables” is only a few years old is a fairly clear indication of how fast this facet of the tech industry has grown. If you widen your scope and survey the past three or four decades, you get an even more complex picture of how technology has evolved and where it may go in the future.

We’ve gone from computers that filled entire rooms to desktop computers, then to portable laptops, cell phones with rudimentary Internet capabilities; to sophisticated smartphones, tablets, and now smart watches and other wearables. Progress has come in the form of a steep uphill track, and one trend is quite clear: Technology is turning ever more personal, especially when you think of all the different ways you can market through them.

While reasonable arguments can be offered on either side of the question of whether or not the trend is ultimately positive, the end result is that technology inarguably permeates every area of life. Wearables are just the latest example, and it will be interesting to see how people and companies adopt these devices for everyday use.

Three ways wearables will likely be used in the workplace

We already have a pretty good idea how wearables will be employed in everyday life, but what about in the workplace? How will companies and their employees use wearable devices and related sophisticated technologies?

Consider a few of the most likely scenarios.

1. Track fitness to cut health care costs

One of the more personal and promising uses of wearable technology in the workplace relates closely to another hot topic: health care. In a day when businesses are having to fork over thousands of dollars a month to cover their employees’ health-care insurance policies, wearable technology could alter that game.

One of the leaders of this charge is Jiff, a company that has advised some of the biggest names in the world, such as Facebook and PayPal. Co-founders Stan Chudnovsky and James Currier have raised nearly $26 million to expand their enterprise in an effort to gain a foothold in the health care portion of the wearables market.

Their goal is to help businesses encourage their employees to adopt healthier habits and lifestyles by offering generous incentives. Jiff’s approach is to sell its incentivized programs to self-insured companies that desperately need to control and curb escalating health care costs. The platform is already available to more than 300,000 employees at such firms as Qualcomm, Activision Blizzard, and Henry Schein.

Though Jiff is leading the way, it won’t be long before others attempt to do the same. Developing rewards-based programs that encourage employees to make healthy decisions is a win-win situation for everyone involved. The employer can lower health-care spending, employees earn financial and tangible rewards, and health-care providers improve the general health of their pool of policy holders.

The companies that use these programs often provide wearables to their employees or let them choose to opt in with their own devices. According to Jamie Reme of TheGPSStore.com, “Garmin is one of the preferred providers of fitness tracking wearables. We see a lot of our customers opt for the vivosmart Activity Tracker with Smart Notifications and vivoactive Activity Tracking Watch. Both are well suited for corporate use.”

2. Eliminates the need for clunky devices

One of the most practical advantages of wearables in the workplace is that they enable employees to reduce their dependence on clunky devices and screens. Instead of perpetually having to lug around a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, workers can move around more freely without feeling disconnected.

As with comparable devices, the Apple Watch allows users to access their email, make phone calls, set reminders, glance at their schedule, and perform any number of other tasks all from their wrist. No more crowded conference rooms with dozens of devices scattered along the table.

No more heavy briefcases crammed with two or three different devices. No more leaving your tablet in the car (or worse, aboard a commuter train or plane) by accident. Wearables probably won’t replace tablets, laptops, and smartphones entirely, but they do offer a convenient alternative for certain tasks and situations.

In certain environments where hands-on activity is necessary, the option to eliminate unnecessary devices could be life-saving. For example, consider emergency room doctors or first responders.

“These are work environments where ‘hands-free’ has a very different meaning,” writes Michael DeFranco, a Forbes.com contributor. “If you’ve literally got your hands on something vitally important, pulling out your phone is not an option.”

Wearable devices empower such professionals to communicate with minimal interference.

3. Monitor physical movement in unique environments

While it may pertain to only a small fraction of the market, it’s worthwhile to note how wearable devices could improve safety, collaboration, and data collection in unusual physical work environments.

In particular, health care, military, and industrial sectors may benefit the most. These devices can track the position of employees or soldiers and provide real-time data to remote (or on-site) locations and data centers.

Such information could then be used to track location, improve efficiency, and manage resources more effectively. From a personal health point of view, the devices could be used to track such indices as heart rate, blood pressure, and hydration.

These in-field uses are among the most exciting potential benefits of wearable devices in the workplace. It should be interesting to monitor such uses in the coming months.

Overcoming barriers to adoption

Despite the many possible benefits, however, some barriers to adoption (among both employees and firms) also loom. As a business owner, you’ll have to consider such issues as privacy, BYOD rules, and technology costs.

These are issues that early adopters are currently encountering, and industry experts expect further clarity in the near future. When we look back in ten years, we’ll recognize that 2015 was only the infancy of wearable technology; but that doesn’t mean you should delay getting involved.

There are already so many options for businesses to profit from, and the odds are high that your firm could benefit from integrating them into your company culture.